Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE) reports additional resource drilling has revealed some of the ‘highest’ uranium grades recorded to date at the Samphire Uranium Project in South Australia.
The company says this program is a follow-up drilling campaign at the Blackbush Deposit comprising 35 rotary mud drillholes testing the target Kanaka sands within the inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) boundary conducted between 6 October and 21 November.
Drilling in the western channel extension of Blackbush West intersected roll fronts extending around 200m from the existing indicated resource boundary with intersections including 1.04m @ 2.02% pU3O8 from 70.4m including 0.5m @ 3.54% pU3O8 in GT21,010, 2.12m @ 0.64% pU3O8 from 60m in GT13,570 and 1.94m @ 0.85% pU3O8 from 59.8m in GT 16,490.
Other ‘significant’ intercepts recorded include 1.72m @ 0.89% pU3O8 from 59.2m in GT 16,490, and 1.42m @ 0.71% pU3O8 from 66.4m in GT 10,150.
Alligator Energy CEO Greg Hall said: “The mineralisation continuity and exceptional grades found around Blackbush West have been very exciting to see and I have continued to buoy our positive view of this project.
“The high-grade zones encountered appear to be extending the resource to the west in an area with little historical drilling”
The high-grade zones encountered appear to be extending the resource to the west in an area with little historical drilling. With resource update now underway, along with commencement of populating the scoping study models, we are looking forward to releasing results on these, along with ANSTO testwork when finalised.”
Alligator reports 8 additional holes were abandoned due to lost circulation in the overlying Melton limestone and sand during drilling, and rain delays caused around 10 days of drilling to be lost during the program.
The drillholes were logged with Prompt Fission Neutron (PFN) and natural gamma for uranium grade, and 3-arm calliper, resistivity, neutron porosity and density for downhole lithology.
The company states the aim of the drilling program was to target additional conversion of the MRE from inferred to indicated, and the resource data acquired is now with AMC Consultants who will undertake a further update of the Blackbush MRE before the end of Q4 2022.
Ongoing calibration of the historical regional ground gravity data is occurring commensurate with acquisition of all new drilling data to redefine the positions within the Samphire palaeochannel that hosts the mineralisation.
Alligator says the western area of Blackbush West now shows the presence of ‘channel-like’ features extending over 500m to the west of the ‘high-grade’ roll fronts identified in the recent program.
It also reports only 7 historical holes exist in this area with only a few drilled within the channel feature itself, and this area is a ‘high-priority’ target for follow up drilling in February next year in addition to other roll front trends not sufficiently tested by historical drilling north of Blackbush West where historical drill spacing remains at 100m by 100m centres or is non-existent.
Alligator Energy is an Australian exploration company focused on uranium and energy minerals, primarily cobalt-nickel.
Its projects include the Samphire Uranium Project and Big Lake Uranium Project in South Australia, the Alligator Rivers Uranium Project in the Northern Territory, and the Piedmont Nickel-Cobalt-Copper-Gold-PGE Project in Italy.
Images: Alligator Energy Ltd & iStock
